Red Poppy Ale | The Lost Abbey

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Notes / Commercial Description:
Perhaps no country embraces the use of fruit in beers more so than Belgium. Numerous traditional as well as regional specialty ales are infused with every sort of fruit imaginable. In this way, the flavor of the fruit becomes especially prominent.

Red Poppy Ale is a veritable celebration of Sour Cherries in an explosion of aromas and tastes. Brewed from a brown ale base and aged in our oak barrels for over 6 months, this beer is not for the faint of heart.

The Golden Poppy is the state flower of California and the Red Poppy is found in Flanders Fields where our inspiration for this beer comes from.

Reviews by yemenmocha:

Sour delight! Wow this ale pours a murky reddish/amber/brown with enormous head, pillowy soft, very bubbly. Nose is simply enormous, rich, tantalizing, and full of sour cherries & bready/yeasty stuff. Wild sour cherries on the palate, some Belgian estery qualities, and a nice sour finish. Good body too, and drinkable. Wow, love this one except for the price, and fortunately for the Lost Abbey that isn't a review criterion.

More User Reviews:

There's no flavor in the beer world that efficiently captures the essence of fruit acidity, dryness, and robust savory flavor like the Flander's red ale. And its with acute attention to detail and legendary brewing prowess that the Lost Abbey pours their heart and soul into the style for a taste that doesn't just match those of the flemish regions, but even eclipses them.

Hazy reds and browns swirl inside the glass, trickling with tawny golden edges, a frothy but loosely knit head pulls from the rusty body below and immediately entices the nose with mouthwatering sour cherry, black cherry, plum and all-things dark berry. With a pep of balsamic, the taste ushers in a mild fruit sweetness that seem from the distinctive black cherries, rung out straight off the branch.

With that juicy succulence and robust blackberry, plum, black cherry and currant character washing over the palate, the piquant tang of the sour ale within begins breaking apart the sweetness and commanding the taste with its own robust acidity that's a medley of hearty cabernet wine and mature balsamic. Dry cider, chardonnay, weathered oak and a full sea brine finish gives the ale a decisive sour and savory finish.

Medium-light on the palate, the ale trails toasty, nutty and almost chocolaty as its underlying savory flavors inch closely to umami status. But the high refreshment of the ale cleanses the palate with thirst-stripping lemon, lime and crabapple acidity and with an afterglow of cellar woods, cork and burlap.

Cracked a 2014 to celebrate the release of the 2015! Poured from a 375 mL bottle into a .4L Bruery tulip.

L: Pours a murky deep brown, with cranberry hues in the light. a thick cream/beige head forms on the pour and recedes quickly into a fine, but steady, head that laces the glass and falls away within minutes.

S: Tart tart tart, with a subtle hint of funk deep within the glass. Enticing. Subtle cherry in the middle, but you can absolutely smell the sour. Minute alcohol.

T: Oh yes. Just like it smells, really tart, and delicious. But with so much more cherry in the taste. Oak in subtle ways that mellow into farmhouse funky cherry goodness.

F: Dry. Carbonated nicely and finely, but dissipates as it warms. Coats the tongue and cheeks nicely with resiny tartness.

O: Great beer. I drink a large number of sours and this one stands up in its particular category. It is aggressive and may not be for all beer drinkers, or even sour drinkers. If you dig the style go with a classic American interpretation of it.

A: A strangely looking murky reddish brown color with a minimal tanned head that quickly fades away to a small ring of lacings.

S: Tart cherry notes and an interesting mix of bretty funk and oak barrels. The barrel notes are more prominent than expected. Hints of other fruity notes and caramel reminiscent of an Oud bruin. An interesting and to large extent good taste, but it's not excellent.

T: The taste is actually quite acidic with sour cherry notes from start to finish. Some complementary caramel-like sweetness. Notes of wood and oak barrels. Mild funky notes and notes of berries. The finish is tart with notes of brett and cherries and a hint of minerals. After a while, the acidity mellows out a bit, letting more sweetness come through.

M: The body is quite light, too light I think. The carbonation is slightly too mellow, I would have liked it to be a little livelier and sparkling.

D: Good, but not fantastic. I've come across many comments about this one comparing it to a lambic, but too me, it is more of a sour, fruit-infused Oud bruin than a fruit lambic (which is what it's categorized as on this site). It's not as complex as some of the better comparable Belgians, but still a very impressive beer. Nice bland of tartness, barrel character and fruit flavors.

T: Supper tart and fruit with a strong acidic tartness and fruit flavors of red current and tart cherries. The oak barrel comes through next mostly with vanilla but a touch of cinnamon. There is some malt rounding out the mild but the balance here is very tart with a dry finish. Lingering fruit flavors and tartness.

M: medium bodied with a strong carbonation.

O: A sour beer of arrival, one should love tart sours before approaching this one. Tart, fruity, vanilla, tart and oak with a touch of vinegar acidity.

It pours a cloudy copper with deep red highlights at the edges. A bone colored head recedes quickly into a nice ring of bubbles around the perimeter

The nose of this beer is exactly what I dream of when I open up an example of my favorite style. It has a nice balance of acetic, cherry, oak, and sweet notes. The addition of actual cherries in this beer leave more cherry aroma than I've had in others but it is a welcome addition. The smell was so inviting I just kept smelling it for several minutes before I dived into the actual liquid.

The cherry is definitely present in the taste but it isn't overpowering. The tart and sour notes have are really well integrated with a fair amount of vinegar taste but not too much to label it over the top. My only gripe with the flavor is that the cherry flavors and the sourness mask a lot of the base beer and I wold like to have more of the brown ale show through.

The mouthfeel is on the lighter side and the present carbonation compliments the beer nicely. it is pretty dry which I really like and allows a mouth puckering beer to be drank without much palette fatigue.

Pours a deep brown color with red highlights and two fingers of bubbly khaki head on top. Aromas of dense oak and wood meet a bright sour cherry. Tart, earthy accents run throughout along with a touch of spice. Nice!

First sip brings crispness and dry oak flavors upfront. Tannic with a solid kick of tart cherry. Spice and earthy funk but the wood has really seeped in this year. Flows down dry and puckering with lingering cherry accents.

Crisp with solid carbonation. A good sipper and a tasty treat to savor. Oak seems more forward this year but overall it's still a tasty treat.

First sip brings a nice crisp malt with a hint of caramel upfront that is immediately met by a rush of vibrant tart cherry flavors. It almost has a syrupy quality to it as it moves into woody, oak barrel flavors. I get a sweetness upfront that melds into a sourness on the way down. Funky, sort of cheesy brett flavors mix in as the brew finishes with lingering cherry afterthoughts. Yum.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side with a smooth effervescence of tight bubbly carbonation as it flows down. It's quite refreshing with a nice interplay between the sweet and sour. A bottle of this to myself is truly a treat and I only wish I had more. A tasty treat of a beer from Lost Abbey.

O: This beer was solid. Loved drinking it. The only thing that threw me off was the smell. Not sure if it was good that it didn't smell like a sour or not, but it wasn't for me. I typically enjoy the strong standard sour smell.

A - Nice pop as the cork comes out. Pours very deep red/brown with almost four fingers of tan head with a slight pink hue. Head has very good retention and leaves some nice lacing. I am surprised how dark this is.

S - Tart cherries, a nice amount of oak, and a good funky base. Small amount of balsamic vinegar.

T - Definitely tart, but not bracingly sour. Also quite a bit of bitterness in the taste, especially on the finish. Earthy and funky with tart cherries. Lots of oak on the finish. Very tasty. Thought it would have more fruit since it is this year's vintage, but I enjoyed it as is.

M - Medium mouthfeel, maybe a bit on the heavy side for the style, but I that isn't a negative.

O - Nice one from Lost Abbey, but not quite up to Rodenbach Grand Cru or Cuvee de Jacobins for the style. Looking forward to seeing what some age does this to this.